The picture, taken by a Boise photographer, has been seen online by hundreds of thousands of people. It shows a father celebrating the birth of a healthy baby and the doctor who delivered the child embracing in joy and relief.

The moment was so emotional, in part, because of the journey the family and doctor endured to get to the happy moment.

An unimaginable loss

For Andrew and Amanda Hanson of Kuna, Idaho, having a baby was a dream come true. However, little Karson is actually their second child. Less than a year before Karson was born, their first son, Klayton, died shortly after birth.

It was a devastating loss, and something they are still grieving.

"I was just so mad," said Amanda Hanson. "Nobody said this could happen."

On April 6, 2013, Hanson was past her due date. Doctors induced labor and her progress was routine.

“I literally looked up and Andrew grabbed Dr. Hodges and they were both just bawling and I kept on shooting.”

Sarah Ledford, photographer

"Everything was fine," Hanson said. "They broke my water, everything was clear and no signs of distress that anything was wrong."

But something was wrong.

"It wasn't until he came out and you are waiting for that cry and there wasn't one," she said.

"The whole room went silent and everyone was just holding their breath waiting for baby to cry and the NICU team came in and it was swarmed with people," Ledford recalled. "I was not just the photographer anymore."

"They finally revived him and brought him over and I just got to hold his hand and they whisked him off," Hanson said.

Their joy quickly turned to unimaginable pain. Baby Klayton had aspirated meconium, the infant's first stool, in contaminated uterine fluid and had gone too long without oxygen.

Hanson's doctor, Bryan Hodges was devastated too.

"He cried right along with us," she said. "At that point he wasn't even a doctor anymore."

Going home to Kuna without a baby, was the toughest part.

"The nursery was set up, toys were out, and coming home, he wasn't with us," Hanson said. "That was so hard, the car seat was in the back. We just had to focus on each other, and find a way to find some sort of joy again."

A miracle

Just three months after the loss of Klayton, a miracle happened. Hanson found out she was pregnant again. The news came with mixed emotions.

"We were in shock," she said. "I was terrified from the instant we found out."

Ledford was one of the first people Hanson called.

"I didn't even know what a 'Rainbow Baby' was," Ledford said. "She comes to her maternity session and she's got paint. We had her paint a rainbow right on her belly. That's your promise after a storm."

Ten months after the loss of Klayton, on Feb. 21, 2014, they were all back in the delivery room at St. Luke's Hospital in Boise.

“I looked back at Dr. Hodges and I saw how relieved he was, too, and I couldn't help it, I just had to give him a hug. It just felt right.”

Andrew Hanson, father

Again, Ledford captured it all on camera.

"As soon as that baby came out, it was full on battle cry," she said. "Everyone was crying, I was crying."

"I looked back at Dr. Hodges and I saw how relieved he was, too, and I couldn't help it, I just had to give him a hug," said Andrew Hanson. "It just felt right."

That's when Ledford snapped the picture now seen by people around the world.

"I literally looked up and Andrew grabbed Dr. Hodges and they were both just bawling and I kept on shooting," she said.

The powerful image went viral on her Facebook page and Today.com picked it up. Now the Hansons' story of loss and hope is everywhere.

"If our story helps anyone who is going through the same thing, know there is hope, that's all we can ask," Andrew Hanson said.

Hodges said the Hansons' story is inspiring. "I think watching them, they are two of the strongest people I have ever met."

As for that famous picture?

"I think a very personal moment was caught on film and I think there is a such a great sense of relief and joy," Hodges said. "I'm glad their story is being told."

Now, a picture of Karson hangs in his office.

"Hope, the light at the end of the tunnel," Amanda Hanson said. "He was able to bring us joy after so much grief."

The Hansons say baby Klayton is living on. He was an organ donor and his kidneys were donated to a mother of two, helping to save her life.